At 3 a.m. on many mornings, Brandi Winkleman and her dedicated volunteers are at the Paw Pad in Milton, checking paperwork and loading up cat and dog carriers into a big van. Winkleman chugs a caffeinated beverage, then drives for hours to reach Operation Spay Bay with dozens of animals in tow. She does this […]
In our community, there is no lack of military appreciation. You see it everywhere. We are a community filled with veterans, retirees, active-duty and reservists. At night we are often lulled to sleep by the sounds of freedom; a C-130 circling overhead, CV-22s flying low and even the sound of gunship fire in the distance. […]
Since WastePro took over waste hauling services for south Santa Rosa County in January 2018, we have written seven articles featuring resident complaints of less than ideal service. Or no service at all. WastePro came into the picture on the heals of an already disgraced waste hauler. Waste Management tried to enact limits on yard […]
Whether you were for or against the sales tax increase on the Oct. 8 ballot, you must give a great deal of credit to the citizens of Santa Rosa County, and eventually the County Commissioners. The citizens rose up and said “no” to the increase in a loud way. And before they voted no, the […]
Well, the voters have spoken, and it’s not really a surprise what they said. Support the tax or oppose it, street chatter revealed what the outcome was likely to be. The proposed increase of a half cent to the county’s local option sales tax failed by a large margin. Unfortunately, the appointees of the zoning […]
No vote is a LOST opportunity If the local option sales tax (LOST) proposed on the Oct. 8 special election ballot fails, we will have LOST a lot. We will have lost $182 million in repaved roads, improved infrastructure, updated equipment for our first responders, stormwater improvements in Holley by the Sea and elsewhere, sidewalks […]
Time is money. The phrase popularized in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin rings all too true more than 270 years later. For the entrepreneur of Santa Rosa County, opening a business here continues to cost time and money. And lots of it. We hear horror stories of site plans that went missing, of costly changes to […]
We live in the most beautiful place in Florida, along the coast’s most beautiful beach. It is paradise. We are also fortunate to live among some pretty spectacular wildlife. The list includes bald eagles, ospreys, deer, coyotes, bears, sea turtles, manatees, dolphins, sharks and so many other species. Nearly every day we see a video […]
In this week’s issue you will read about a local family, the Rudzkis, who built one of the top 10 best beach bars in Florida from literally a shack 30 years ago. You can read the full article on our community page, but their accomplishments are nothing short of impressive. And in a town where […]
We learned in the last two weeks about a couple of instances where it has become necessary to hire off duty deputies to slow down speeders in Holley by the Sea and to direct the flow of weekend traffic on Gulf Boulevard at the Navarre Beach Causeway. This presents an interesting scenario. On one hand, […]
When it comes to the process of opening a business in Santa Rosa County, the county staff should look at themselves, as a whole, in the mirror. That is where the change must start. At the small-business roundtable hosted by the Navarre Beach Area Chamber and Small Business Development Council of UWF, we listened to […]
A Milton mother of five has been charged with felony child neglect – five counts. Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office investigated and entered the home to find the children living in squalor. What they found was disgusting. Children living in a roach-infested house. No furniture except a dining room table. A room with three mattresses on […]
If anyone has experienced the miracle of child birth, you will forever remember the first time you heard your baby’s heartbeat. The fast flutter sound fills the room along with the smiles and giggles from the parents. The heartbeat signifies life – a living, breathing life. The heartbeat of an unborn baby is no exception. […]
Here’s a question. If a plan is formulated based on robust voter input and if that plan is the pillar on which the representative of that area is elected by nearly 75 percent of the voters in his district and if the voting body has been discussing wanting the elements of this plan for nearly […]
We hope Holley Navarre Water System will get their act together and behave like a professional board that controls one of the largest budgets in the county. We wish successful business owners, or at least people with board experience, would seek to become part of the board for no other reason than to serve their […]
The date was Nov. 21, 2017, and it was a standing room only board meeting of the Holley Navarre Water System. Tempers were raging – some were trying to remove Brian Kelly from the board and others were trying to save him from being ousted. It all swirled around Kelly’s eligibility to serve on the […]
Navarre voters overwhelmingly said “no” to Rob Williamson as District 4 County Commissioner in the August election. They used their votes to voice their displeasure with his representation, his decisions and his financial management of Navarre. Holley Navarre Water System has decided Williamson deserves a high-paying consolation prize with an offer to be their […]
The District 4 Master Plan has been revealed, and it is full of some great ideas: a plan for phasing in more walkability, new downtown friendly land development codes and lots of green space. We like where Matrix is going with this, especially when you look at the new overlay zoning. It intends to encourage […]
We want to preface this with a simple statement of goal. We want the Panhandle Butterfly House to succeed. They are an asset to our community. But, in May we said: this is a bad idea. Dropping a small nonprofit program that has no stable revenue stream or even its own book keeper into a […]
And, silence is permission Navarre Press is certain the outcome of the primary election, including the win by District 4 commissioner-elect Dave Piech is what is best for Navarre and Santa Rosa County. Piech used a saying in his campaign, “No vote, no voice,” and residents responded in big numbers (well, bigger than years past). The […]
According to governing.com, there are two types of political candidates; those who want to do something (Dave Piech) and those who want to be something (Rob Williamson). In an historic election in Santa Rosa County Tuesday, the candidate who wants to do something won. Not only does Dave Piech want to do something, but he […]
Originally Published 5/17/2018 Biased, according to the dictionary, means a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned. It means showing favoritism. We have been accused of being biased in our coverage of our current county commissioner Rob Williamson. This very page is called the Editorial page for a […]
Its no longer a house…it’s a planned $1 million mansion. Navarre Press has always been in full support of the Panhandle Butterfly House and we will continue to be. It is a great place for the children of our community. There are a lot of interesting things to know about butterflies and how they affect […]
The first thing an employer considers when hiring a candidate for a job is a person’s resume. They look at their qualifications…are they qualified for the position? Do they have experience to lend to move the company forward? Do they have the education required for the position? Once they decide that candidate meets the qualifications, […]
Great brands start with the question why. Why does this brand exist? Great brands are purposeful and authentic. They are responsive and transparent. Great brands are meant to be used as a communication tool, evoking some sort of memory or feeling in people. This is why the Navarre community loved its old beach sign so […]
Yes, it’s campaign season – and all the ugly that comes with it. What you may not know is if you contribute money to Rob Williamson’s opponent he will shut you out. And apparently he has a long memory. One voter contributed to his campaign and the opponent’s campaign. Even though the voter gave him […]
A visionary: thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom (Merriam-Webster). The Collins English Dictionary says if you refer to someone as a visionary, you mean that they have strong, original ideas about how things might be different in the future, especially about how things might be improved. Visionaries step out of the […]
If you have been paying attention, over the past several months Navarre Press has been covering and reporting on all the ways for a Navarre downtown to develop. Quint Studer has been our resource because he knows better than anyone how to accomplish it. Even in this issue we write about it (see CivicCon story […]
In the past week, Navarre Press has reunited lost pets with their owners/families. First, a beautiful cat graced our porch looking for some reassurance that his story would have a happy ending. And it did. This cat (we now know his name is Mittens) did all the right things after he went missing. He got […]
On Monday Gov. Rick Scott released a School Safety Improvement Plan in response to the senseless murder of 17 children and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We have printed the entire plan on the next page. Please take a moment to read it. This plan contains sweeping changes to school security requirements, staffing, […]