The first steps toward the state purchase of Garcon Point Bridge, and the reduction or elimination of tolls, are being taken faster than proponents previously expected.

The 2017 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday runs Aug. 4 through Aug. 6.

A fire near Eglin Air Force Base’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory sent a towering plume of smoke into the sky shortly before 10 a.m. July 5, according to a public affairs report. The plume dissipated by noon, but not before base officials warned that the smoke may have contained methyl chloride, a potentially hazardous gas.