Growing up in what is now a bursting-at-the-seams Chicago suburb, I lived next door to a cottage without indoor plumbing.

The cottage had been the goat shed of the homestead in our rural area and, as children, we were fascinated by its primitive plumbing.

The Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners has chosen and approved an interim county administrator to start in that position Aug. 26, the day after current administrator, Dan Schebler, leaves.

Just 33% of Santa Rosa County residents who can be vaccinated are fully vaccinated, according to Brad Baker, the county’s public safety director. In addition to those 62,393 residents, an additional 13,426 have received the first dose of a vaccination.

Students returned to Santa Rosa Schools Tuesday mostly unmasked, although some educators erred on the side of caution. For the most part, everyone was ready to be there.

Though most visitors can’t imagine Navarre Beach with tall sand dunes, small buildings and endless stretches of empty sand, a family from Baton Rouge, Louisiana can’t imagine it any other way.

Masks are highly recommended for students but not required, according to Saturday afternoon clarification from the Santa Rosa County School district. Officials said they are waiting for additional information from the Florida Department of Education and will notify parents early this week if anything changes.

Morgan Construction Company, Inc., a Tennessee firm that will be building the Aldi in Navarre, has confirmed that ground will be broken next week.

The Santa Rosa County School District has requested a conditional use permit to build a K-8 school on a portion of a 130-acre parcel at the corner of Tanglewood Drive and Willard Norris Drive in Milton.

The parcel, which the district does not yet own, is surrounded by residential property and zoned for residential development.

Every evening, Gary Weber and his wife sit behind their Holley by the Sea home enjoying the solitude and the view of what’s left of their back yard.

When Gaby Austin got a tip that U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz would be at Stripes Pub and Grill Wednesday, she knew she had to go.

Austin, a member of Escambia Federated Republican Women, said that meeting Gaetz was a dream of hers. She trusts him to help lead the country in the right direction and, as a legal immigrant, appreciates his position on illegal immigration.