Plans for two new restaurants, a gas station-convenience store and an expression of interest in building a 17-story hotel on Navarre Beach all emerged last week to give South Santa Rosa County prospects for its biggest commercial development year since before the Great Recession.

Despite officials’ concerns about safety, the Navarre Family Watersports complex won approval from the Santa Rosa County Zoning Board to expand operations within its existing property—moving closer to Santa Rosa Sound and putting boaters nearer to the facility’s helicopter pad.

Des Moines, Iowa (AP) — The state agency that regulates wild and exotic animals in Iowa is misinterpreting a nearly decade-old law that imposes tough rules for keeping such animals, according to advocacy groups involved in a legal challenge.