Emerging from a campaign that brought out the worst in both candidates and some supporters, Doug Broxson took a commanding early lead over fellow Republican Mike Hill for the Northwest Florida state Senate seat about an hour after the polls closed on Tuesday night.

A presumptive prison release date (PPRD) of Jan. 7, 2059, for a man convicted of murdering an adolescent girl in 1991 was set Wednesday by the Florida Commission on Offender Review State Attorney Bill Eddins announced.

Searching for support on the proposed local-option sales tax to build a new downtown Milton courthouse, city leaders ponied up $5,000 for a mass mailing to voters as time ran short before this week’s election.