The Santa Rosa County Tourism Development Council received an update Oct. 7 from Julie White, director of the TDC, about issues with maintenance, vandalism, pavilions, parking lots, beach sand and trash. According to officials, residents have complained about the conditions of Navarre Beach as of late and officials are working to find solutions.

Council members called the conditions “unsatisfactory” after the presentation concluded, citing a need to expand maintenance crew staff to handle the growing number of visitors.

The number of new COVID cases in Santa Rosa County continues to drop, with just 360 new cases reported last week, according to the Florida Department of Health. The positivity rate is at 10.9%, compared to a high of 30% during the peak of the recent wave.

A Department of Environmental Protection investigation into reports of a fecal odor near Hidden Creek Golf Course found no evidence of abnormal operations, according to a press release sent out by Holley-Navarre Water System.

There have been no “exceedances” since January 2021, according to DEP’s response.

A multiple vehicle accident is being cleaned up in the median U.S. Highway 98, near Harvest Village in Navarre. Traffic is slow moving, but delays should not be significant.

A 52-year-old Gulf Breeze man was sentenced Sept. 23 to four months in jail on charges of video voyeurism and disorderly conduct. Robert Sampson was an employee at the Department of Veteran Affairs when he placed a hidden camera in a restroom at the Pensacola VA Joint Ambulatory Care Center.