I’m not always the sharpest technological pencil in the pack, so it took me a while to catch on to the fact that the ads appearing on my Facebook newsfeed were not just randomly things I liked. Like a long while. Years, in fact.

I just thought of it as one of the little miracles of life that the ads that I saw were often for things I actually sought or had thought of buying.

In his years of living on the 16th floor of Beach Colony Resort on Navarre Beach, Hardin McLean has seen a lot of seagulls, pelicans and ospreys.

Saturday, he saw something new.

For more than 30 years, if you visited the office of the Santa Rosa Press Gazette, you’d likely meet Jim Fletcher.

He was editor before he was publisher. He was passionate about Milton and about local news and about his “family” of employees. On Jan. 5, his family learned that Fletcher, who was hospitalized on New Year’s Day, had died of cancer at an area hospital a few days later. He was 64.

Tommy Greenwell can still remember the first time he paddled out into the waves near the Pensacola Pier. He was 10 years old and wanted to be like his older brother, an avid surfer.

That first day, he learned how to sit on the board.

For Christmas this year, I got some of the most wonderful gifts of all – feedback from readers that they love Navarre Press and appreciate our role in the community.

A few people went out of their way to send us this gift. Others mentioned it when they were making sure their subscriptions didn’t expire.

Navarre Beach Fishing Pier breaks attendance, revenue records

When the Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners met Dec. 6, they learned what they may have already realized.

Chief: ‘It’s definitely going to save lives’

As of 9 a.m. Nov. 15, the Navarre Beach Fire Rescue joined a small group of departments in the county to be ALS-certified.

‘The winner is … Navarre Beach Fire Rescue’

Members of Navarre Beach Fire Rescue (NBFR) gathered with family and friends to watch the Land Rover “Defender Above & Beyond Service Awards” ceremony held on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

Navarre Park completion delayed until November

The newest projected date for completion of Navarre Park has been pushed back to very late November, according to Santa Rosa County officials.