By Rob Johnson on April 22, 2018
Amy Klotz-Hollenbeck, City of Gulf Breeze, Fairpoint Drive, Golf, Golf cart, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Police Chief Rick Hawthorne, Next Door website, ordinance, Residential neighborhood, Shoreline Drive, Shoreline Park, Terry Mead, Tom Naile, Vernon Prather
Local

Get golf carts off the sidewalks and don’t let children behind the wheel. That’s the gist of a proposed City of Gulf Breeze ordinance aimed at answering complaints about the perils of golf cart traffic in residential neighborhoods. Read the full article in the April 19 issue of Navarre Press. Visit www.navarrepress.com/subscribe to view subscription […]
By Rob Johnson on April 18, 2018
City of Gulf Breeze, Daryl Lynchard, effluent, Eglin Air Force Base, Fairpoint Regional Utility, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Flea Market, Holley-Navarre Water System, Holly, James Calkins, Navarre, navarre beach water, Paul Gardner, Ricki DeSantis, Samantha Abell, south santa rosa utility system, treated wastewater, Will Goulet
Headlines

Once closely allied, Holley Navarre Water System and the City of Gulf Breeze are now at arm’s length. Not only is the revamped board of HNWS backing away from a proposed contract under which it would have paid an estimated $8 million dollars over two decades to spray treated wastewater on land that the city’s […]
By Rob Johnson on April 16, 2018
Amy Klotz-Hallonbeck, Brenda Smith, City of Gulf Breeze, Dolphin Street, Don Palmer, Golf cart, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Police Chief Rick Hawthorne, Next Door, ordinance, social media, Tabby cat, Tom Naile
Local, Pets

Growing community outrage about a deceased cat found on a residential street in the City of Gulf Breeze last week has revived efforts to regulate the golf carts that zip about town on roads and sidewalks. “My daughters are crying their eyes out tonight because someone in a golf cart hit and killed a family […]
By Rob Johnson on April 13, 2018
Bill Burke, City of Gulf Breeze, David Landfair, Florida Auditor General's Office, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Legal fees, Patty Burke, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa Sound, Sen. Doug Broxson, Tom Naile
Local

Patty Burke, an outspoken critic of how the City of Gulf Breeze is run, has become the first official candidate for mayor in the election scheduled for November. “I would just like to bring more fiscal responsibility to City Hall,” said Burke, a 56-year-old former investment counselor at the Dean Witter brokerage firm. Read the […]
By Rob Johnson on April 11, 2018
City of Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Samanta Abell, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School District, Sen. Doug Broxson, Shawn Brantley, south santa rosa utility system, Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, tiger point golf club, Tom Naile
Headlines

The City of Gulf Breeze’s proposed sale of part of Tiger Point Golf Club to the Santa Rosa County School District may be a better deal for Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick’s organization than either side realized. In fact, the results of a new appraisal received by the City of Gulf Breeze this week indicates that the […]
By Rob Johnson on April 7, 2018
Career Source ESCAROSA, Department of Economic Opportunity, Department of Revenue, escambia county, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Santa Rosa County, Sen. Marco Rubio. Sen. Bill Nelson, Sheryl Rehberg, Tiffany Vause, unemployment rate
Local

With the unemployment rate on Career Source Escarosa’s turf now about half the 8 percent that it was five years ago, the agency would seem to be working its way out of a job. Instead, Career Source Escarosa finds itself searching for new strategies to help the roughly 7,600 job seekers in Escambia and Santa […]
By Rob Johnson on April 4, 2018
Dannheisser, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Michael Stebbins, Renee Bookout, resigns
Headlines, Local

Amid growing acrimony on the Gulf Breeze City Council, Mayor Matt Dannheisser has decided not to run for re-election in November. Dannheisser’s probable successor is David Landfair, the mayor pro tem and a JROTC instructor at Gulf Breeze High School, who told the Navarre Press on Wednesday that he plans to run. “I’m announcing my […]
By Rob Johnson on April 4, 2018
Buz Eddy, City of Gulf Breeze, Fairpoint Regional Utility, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Holley-Navarre Water System, James Calkins, John Grant, Midway Water, Navarre, navarre beach water, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa Utility System, Vernon Prather, Will Goulet
Headlines

In an apparent reversal of fortune from a year ago, Fairpoint Regional Utility now expects a financial surplus that could rise to about $12 million during the next decade. Further, recent changes to Fairpoint’s board are already signaling its increased independence of influence from City of Gulf Breeze officials who campaigned last year for a […]
By Rob Johnson on March 30, 2018
Bridge tolls, florida department of transportation, Florida House, Florida Rep. Jayer Williamson, Florida Sen. Doug Broxson, Florida Senate, Garcon Point Bridge, Garcon Point Bridge Authority, Morgan Lamb, Santa Rosa County, Warren Bloom
Local

Okay, we couldn’t agree on an offer to buy the Garcon Point Bridge, so perhaps we should give it back. “Maybe we could just walk away,” State Rep. Jayer Williamson told the Navarre Press after neither the Florida House nor Senate could pass legislation aimed at a state purchase of the bridge during the recently […]
By Rob Johnson on March 28, 2018
Capital Trust Agency, City of Gulf Breeze, David Landfair, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Holley-Navarre Water System, Michael Stebbins, Patricia Burke, Renee Bookout, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School District, Sen. Doug Broxson, Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, tiger point golf club, Tom Naile
Headlines

Challenges by some Gulf Breeze City Council members over delays in their requests for specifics about the municipality’s mounting legal fees are putting Mayor Matt Dannheisser on the political hot seat. In fact, in a city where unopposed candidates are the norm, three of Dannheisser’s colleagues on the council are thinking of running against him […]
By Rob Johnson on March 25, 2018
Andrews Institute, Assisted Living Facility, Carol Ettelson, City of Gulf Breeze, Gerald Munday, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Hospital, Jack Floyd, Joachim Drive, John Tolan, Pauline Morris, Retirement home, Sacred Heart Medical Group, Sara Munday, St. Ann's Catholic Church, The Arbors, Tom Pulley
Local

Although the new Arbors senior living community won’t be fully open until May, 20 residents have already moved into the City of Gulf Breeze retirement spot. “It feels like home,” said Gerald Munday, a retired United Methodist Church minister who—with his wife Sara—relocated from a nearby single-family home to be among the Arbors’ first tenants. […]
By Rob Johnson on March 23, 2018
Commission Chairman Bob Cole, Commissioner Lane Lynchard, escambia county, Grover Robinson, Navarre Beach, Pensacola Bay Bridge, Rubble, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Skanska USA, snorkeling
Local

Santa Rosa commissioners decided against pursuing their contentious claim to concrete chunks from next year’s planned demolition of the old Pensacola Bay Bridge to be used as material for offshore reef building. They balked partly at competing with Escambia County, which also wants a major portion of the estimated 150,000 tons of rubble that will […]
By Rob Johnson on March 23, 2018
City of Gulf Breeze, College Parkway, County Club Drive, florida department of transportation, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Danheisser, Jehle-Halstead Inc., Patrick Jehle, Property Appraiser Greg Brown, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School Board, Santa Rosa County School District, School Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, Scott Peden, Tiger Point, tiger point golf club
Education

In a deal that isn’t perfect for either side, the Santa Rosa County School Board has agreed to buy part of Tiger Point Golf Club from the City of Gulf Breeze for $1.9 million. Current plans call for an elementary or middle school to be built there within five to eight years, but School Superintendent […]
By Rob Johnson on March 21, 2018
Auditor, City of Gulf Breeze, Department of Economic Opportunity, Enterprise Florida, Florida Auditor General, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze City Hall, Mike Gomez, Samantha Abell, Sen. Doug Broxson, south santa rosa utility system, Tiger Point, tiger point golf club
Headlines

After three months of sifting through tips from would-be sources, state auditors are still trying to decide how far and deep their planned look into City of Gulf Breeze operations will be. The Florida Auditor General’s staff had planned to set up shop at Gulf Breeze City Hall by the end of March, but […]
By Rob Johnson on March 16, 2018
Bridge tolls, florida department of transportation, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Florida Senate, Garcon Bridge Authority, Garcon Point Bridge, House of Representatives, Morgan Lamb, Rep. Jayer Williamson, Sen. Doug Broxson
Local

No deal. The prospect of a state government offer to buy the Garcon Point Bridge and reduce tolls has relied on legislators’ reaching agreement to include millions of dollars in this year’s budget. Read the full article in the Mar. 15 issue of Navarre Press. Visit www.navarrepress.com/subscribe to view subscription options. Sign up to receive […]
By Rob Johnson on March 15, 2018
City of Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Property Appraiser Greg Brown, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School Board, Santa Rosa County School District, Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, Tiger Poing Golf Club, Tiger Point residents
Local

In a deal that isn’t perfect for either side, the Santa Rosa County School Board agreed Thursday to buy part of Tiger Point Golf Club from the City of Gulf Breeze for $1.9 million. The panel’s 5-0 vote came over the objections of a half-dozen homeowners in the Tiger Point area who warned about the […]
By Rob Johnson on March 9, 2018
BP oil spill, Bridge rubble, Commission Chairman Bob Cole, Escambia Bay Bridge, escambia county, Escambia County Commissioners, florida department of transportation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Grover Robinson, Keith Mille, Mike Sandler, Navarre Beach, Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Navarre Chamber, offshore reefs, Pensacola Bay Bridge, Pensacola Beach, Rubble, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Skanska USA, USS Oriskany
Local

There should be plenty of big concrete chunks from next year’s planned demolition of the old Pensacola Bay Bridge to supply the offshore reef-building needs of both Santa Rosa and Escambia for years to come. Although some commissioners from both counties are contentiously claiming shares of the valuable material to construct habitat for sport fish, […]
By Rob Johnson on March 7, 2018
Cherry Fitch, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Renee Bookout, Rod Miller, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School District, Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, Santa Rosa Shores, tiger point golf club, Tom Naile
Education

Tiger Point Golf Club’s defunct west course will be the site of a middle or elementary school—or both—if the City of Gulf Breeze accepts Tim Wyrosdick’s $1.9 million offer for a 45-acre parcel. While only about half the amount forecast last fall by Matt Dannheisser, mayor of Gulf Breeze, which owns the club, the prospective […]
By Rob Johnson on March 2, 2018
Alan Lowery, Barbara Peterson, Brandi Whitehurst, City of Gulf Breeze, City of Milton, Florida Public Records Act, Florida Sunshine Law, John Kreuzer, Local Government, public officials, Rick Fernandez, Santa Rosa County, Smarsh Inc., Stephanie Lucas, Steven Smarsh, Tallahassee, Tallahassee City Commission, Tallahassee Democrat, text messages, Wanda Pitts, Watchdog
Local

Big Brother is watching and listening–to itself–more intently. Spurred by a landmark public records law settlement in Tallahassee, governments in our area are among those scrutinizing and upgrading their methods of tracking text messages on the cell phones they furnish to employees and elected officials. Read the full article in the Mar. 1 issue of […]
By Rob Johnson on February 28, 2018
Avalon Boulevard, Commission Chairman Bob Cole, Dan Schebler, Don Spencer, Ed Carson, Florida Division of Motor Vehicles, Gulf Breeze Parkway, Local-Option Sales Tax, Midway, Milton, Milton Courthouse, Moving Santa Rosa Forward, Navarre, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Santa Rosa County Judicial Center, Santa Rosa Courthouse annex, Scott Kemp, Stan Colie Nichols
Headlines

The possibility of building a Santa Rosa Courthouse annex in the Navarre-Midway area with at least one courtroom is gaining traction. While occasionally suggested in the past by various commissioners, making the south-side judicial facility a reality has always taken a back seat to the county’s tortured effort to fund and construct a new main […]
By Rob Johnson on February 23, 2018
ad valorem taxes, audit, City of Gulf Breeze, Government grants, Gulf Breeze, homestead exemption, Jim Doyle, property taxes, Samantha Abell, South Santa Rosa Utility, stormwater control, Stormwater fee, Terry Mead, tiger point golf club
Local

The squeeze could be on soon for City of Gulf Breeze homeowners to pay special assessments for stormwater control now that officials there have acknowledged that the prospect of more government grants is unlikely. That’s a sea change in a city where a blue ribbon Stormwater Task Force got off to a fast start after […]
By Rob Johnson on February 16, 2018
audit, Baskerville-Donovan Inc., Bergren Road, City of Gulf Breeze, Florida Legislators, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze City Hall, James Anderson, Larry Sessions, Mike Gomez, Otto Prochaska, Rod Miller, Santa Rosa Shores Homeowners Association, Sen. Doug Broxson, Sewer plant, South Santa Rosa Utility, tiger point golf club, Tom Naile
Local

The proposed expansion of the sewer plant at Tiger Point Golf Club won’t be quite as inexpensive as City of Gulf Breeze leaders have projected, area residents learned this week. Adding on to the plant, known as “Old Stinky” to owners of houses near the golf course, will cost an estimated $17.6 million, according […]
By Rob Johnson on February 15, 2018
City of Gulf Breeze, CM Complete Home Solutions, Commissioner Sam Parker, Fast cash, Homes for sale, Michael Garrison, Midway, Navarre, Navarre Beach, Property Appraiser Greg Brown, real estate, Santa Rosa County, The Sierra Group LLC
Local

From hand-written signs nailed to telephone poles in the City of Gulf Breeze to a front-page countywide newspaper advertisement, the pitches by would-be buyers of houses for cash and “as is” are hard to miss lately. Such companies as The Sierra Group LLC, headquartered in Nebraska, are touting offers that—while they are likely to be […]
By Rob Johnson on February 15, 2018
App River, Career Source ESCAROSA, Employment agency, escambia county, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Gretchen Clarke, Gulf Power, Kelly Services, Milton, Pensacola, Santa Rosa County, Sheryl Rehberg, Steve Rhodes, Tina Stewart
Local

With 44 employees and an annual budget that includes more than $6 million in federal funds, Career Source Escarosa ranks last among Florida’s 24 local employment agencies as measured by the Department of Economic Opportunity’s metrics. Officials at the CSE are looking for answers why and searching for ways to improve their evaluation by the […]
By Rob Johnson on February 2, 2018
audit, BP oil spill, Children's park, debt, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Breeze Chamber, Gulf Breeze City Hall, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Gulf Breeze Stormwater Utility Fee, Jim Doyle, Mike Gomez, property taxes, south santa rosa utility system, Splashpad, stormwater drainage, Stormwater projects, Sunset Park, Terry Mead, Tiger Point Golf Course, Town center
Local

As state auditors prepare to examine the books at the City of Gulf Breeze, officials there are outlining spending plans to showcase the municipality: from a new police station to a children’s park splashpad. Although funding isn’t yet available for all the myriad projects detailed in a new city report, officials say the money can […]
By Rob Johnson on February 1, 2018
Al Garza, Bien May, Buz Eddy, debt, Fairpoint Regional Utility System, finances, Florida Sunshine Law, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Holley, Holley-Navarre Water System, James Calkins, Midway Water System, Navarre, Paul Gardner, Ricki DeSantis, south santa rosa utility system, Will Goulet
Headlines

The concerns that prompted Gulf Breeze-based officials of Fairpoint Regional Utility System to press for a controversial debt restructuring last year have largely drowned in black ink. Also gone—at least for now—are fears that an increase in the price of water that Fairpoint sells to the collective’s members, such as Holley Navarre Water System, could […]
By Rob Johnson on January 28, 2018
Brian Watkins, Capital Trust Agency, Florida, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles', Florida House of Representatives, Geoff Ross, Gulf Breeze, Milton, Police Chief Rick Hawthorne, Red light cameras, Samantha Abell, Santa Rosa County, Traffic, Traffic enforment
Local

Retired Navy Senior Chief Geoff Ross recently looked for hot-button issues in his candidacy for the Santa Rosa County Commission and hit on a controversial target in the red-light cameras used for traffic enforcement. Read the full article in the Jan. 25 issue of Navarre Press. Subscribe online at navarrepress.com for as little as […]
By Rob Johnson on January 20, 2018
BP oil spill, BP oil spill funds, Commissioner Rob Williamson, Commissioner Sam Parker, don gaetz, Erica Grancagnolo, Fish hatchery, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gil McRae, gulf of mexico, Natural Resource Damage Assessment grant, Navarre Beach, northwest florida, Pensacola, Saltwater angling, Sport fish, Triumph Gulf Coast
Beach, Local

The recent suggestion that Navarre Beach could be the new site of Pensacola’s proposed-but-troubled fish hatchery project isn’t gaining support. Since December, when County Commissioner Rob Williamson floated the notion of moving the planned site of the controversial Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission hatchery, the realities of funding needs and bureaucratic complexities have surfaced. Read […]
By Rob Johnson on January 19, 2018
bed tax collections, Clearwater, Gulf Coast, gulf of mexico, Julie Morgan, Leroy Bridges, northwest florida, Paradise Advertising, Pinellas County, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office, St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay area, Tom Hanks, University of West Florida, Visit St.Petersburg-Clearwater
Local

Ads that promote vacations on beautiful Gulf Coast beaches are running on the University of West Florida’s radio station—but those leisure destinations aren’t around here. Instead, Visit St. Petersburg-Clearwater is a player on the university’s National Public Radio airwaves with a strategy that Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Director Julie Morgan said she can’t afford. […]
By Rob Johnson on January 10, 2018
Easty Bay, Florida, florida department of transportation, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Florida State Rep. Jayer Williamson, Garcon Point bonds, Garcon Point Bridge, Garcon Point Bridge bondholders, Morgan Lamb, Santa Rosa County, Sen. Doug Broxson, Tallahassee, taxpayers
Local

Local legislators want to acquire the Garcon Point Bridge, but first they have to sell the deal to fellow lawmakers and then to current private owners of the bonds that funded the bridge’s construction in 1999. The devil will be in the dollars. “Even if it just costs $100, you know some people are […]