Santa Rosa County Federal Credit Union recently concluded a community coat drive to help keep local students warm during the winter months.

Grace Carbaugh is stepping down as president and CEO of the Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce, the chamber announced Jan. 22.

The announcement was made in a post on the chamber’s Facebook page. Carbaugh has led the organization for the past five years. Her final day will be at the end of February.

Navarre Beach Bridge will undergo a series of routine bridge inspections beginning Wednesday, Feb. 18 and ending Thursday, Feb. 19.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recently announced a change in policy regarding how driver license exams are proctored.

Starting Friday, Feb. 6, all driver license knowledge and skills examinations will be administered exclusively in English. The state also mentioned in a press release that exams must be taken without an interpreter.

In addition to Monday, Jan. 26, and Tuesday, Jan. 27, the cold weather shelter for the homeless and/or heatless will be open on the nights of Wednesday, Jan. 28, Thursday, Jan. 29, and Friday, Jan. 30 at Ferris Hill Baptist Church, 6848 Chaffin St. in Milton.

With the holidays behind us, your garage is probably pretty cluttered right about now, storing boxes and boxes of decorations. You’ve got red and green Christmas decorations and glittery New Year’s decorations stacked on top of fall decorations. Decorating and undecorating for the holidays can be chaotic. And with the help of Closets by Design, your garage or storage room will be organized, and every decoration will have a home, making preparing for the holidays enjoyable like it should be. 

Snowbird season is in full swing, and a lot of those snowbirds graciously flock to Good Neighbor Thrift Store to spend some of their free time volunteering in the beach town they have come to know and love. 

The Emerald Coast Lifesaving Association will host the second edition of its Lifeguard Development Course on Navarre Beach on Feb. 16. The course will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is designed for second- and third-year lifeguards, with an emphasis on advanced skills, teamwork and leadership preparation. The program is not intended for current supervisors.

An alleged burglary Friday, Jan. 16, led to the arrest of four people in Milton.
The incident was reported after a neighbor noticed suspicious activity and alerted the homeowner. Deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded, and the suspects attempted to flee before being apprehended.

Tuesday night, January 13, 2026, at approximately 7:20 p.m., deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to an attempted armed burglary at Navarre Jewelry & Quartz Watch Repair, located at 2282 Highway 87 South.