An announcement is expected to be made this week regarding OfficeMax and Office Depot joining forces. Boca Raton-based Office Depot has 1,675 stores and Office Max, based in Illinois, has 900 stores.  If there is a merger, the plan would be to close stores that compete with each other which will reduce costs overall.

We were a few reporters down this week and our news editor left for the hills of North Carolina last week, so I did what I had to do and I enjoyed every minute of it. Saturday, the Krewe of Jesters allowed me on top of their float to take pictures of the Mardi Gras parade. I really enjoyed it and it was from a perspective that I have not had in my 12 years of covering the parade. I had originally asked to be on top of the ladder of the fire truck but I was politely told that was against the rules.

The Mardi Gras Parade is this Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Navarre Beach Causeway going over to the beach will be shutting down around 12:30 p.m. Last year, they had both lanes coming off of the bridge after the parade. The Navarre Krewe of Jesters float will lead the parade and they are excited to show it off because they won first place Jan. 19 in the Abita Mardi Gras Parade on Okaloosa Island. Krewe of Lafitte from Pensacola will also be joining the parade with their float, “The Sword.”

If you usually skip the sports page – don’t. We have a story about Nadia Fingall, a 6-foot 2-inch Navarre High School Freshman basketball player that we will be hearing more about in the years to come.