By the time you read this it will officially be spring and our legislators will have been in session for a little more than two weeks. Appropriate enough – Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina that, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
Santa Rosa County Commissioners did not act on the Tourist Development Council’s recommendation to hire Denise Haywald, Navarre resident, for the community relations/social media coordinator during the March 14 commission meeting.
A University of Central Florida student who pulled a dormitory fire alarm in the middle of the night had a more sinister plan than sending students scurrying out into the Orlando night, authorities said.
Relationships should be violence free, but during those times when it is not, the Shelter House Domestic Violence Center provides a shelter in the storm for those caught in a violent relationship.
Daylight savings starts Sunday morning and that means Spring is here. Navarre Beach will start to get college spring-breakers. The University of Florida is out for Spring Break this week. Next week, Florida State, Troy, Auburn, University of West Florida, Duke, University of North Carolina, University of Georgia and Emory are out for spring break.
Two Holley-Navarre Intermediate School fifth-grade teams will compete at the statewide Odyssey of the Mind competition April 6 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
It is official, Panera Bread will have a location in Gulf Breeze by the end of the year. On March 15, 2012 – almost a year ago – I wrote in my column that I was at the Fort Walton Beach Panera and spoke with a manager-type. I mentioned that the Panera truck has to drive through Navarre every day from Pensacola to Fort Walton and that it should have a stop in Navarre. He mentioned then that they were looking at a location in Gulf Breeze. I proceed to email Panera corporate to let them know that they should be looking at Navarre as well. Today, when I spoke with the regional marketing manager, I said the same. By the time I was finished with her she was sure they were looking at Navarre next and said, “Let us get this one (Gulf Breeze) open first.” I think I wore her down. She works out of the Jacksonville area and has never visited us on the far western side of Florida, but I believe she will now. She is also getting a package of materials from us promoting Navarre, including the 2013 Navarre Chamber Guide that we completed last month and a Visitor Guide.
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.