News Archive

Money is already flowing into Santa Rosa County’s 2026 election races, with candidates tapping local businesses, private individuals, and their own wallets to fund campaigns for races that will be decided this August.

A new outdoor and firearms retailer has opened in Milton, taking over a location that had been vacant after its previous owner closed. The new owner said the businesses are not connected.

The Milton City Council heard a proposal April 23 that would require owners of vacant and abandoned properties to register with the city and pay escalating annual fees.

After hours of pointed arguments, emotional appeals and tense deliberation, the Santa Rosa County School Board voted April 22 to give district teachers a fully recurring 2% salary increase, ending months of failed negotiations and leaving union leaders relieved.

As Santa Rosa County Commissioners moved to advance ballot language for the renewal of the county’s half-cent local option sales tax on April 21, a familiar voice from the public urged the board once again to strip the measure down to a single purpose: fixing roads.

The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners on April 21 paid tribute to Elizabeth Baskerville Major, a mathematician, certified Florida Master Naturalist and longtime community advocate who died last year at age 87, by presenting a posthumous certificate of recognition to honor her decades of environmental and civil service.

Every Santa Rosa County 4-H student who participated in a recent Panhandle Poultry Project show on March 28 walked away with a blue ribbon, with Ayla Foreman claiming the top honor of Grand Champion for her entry, Opal.

It’s never too early to have a plan. This weekend, residents across Santa Rosa County are invited to a free Disaster Services Expo on Sunday, April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Bayview Community Center, located at 2001 E. Lloyd St. in Pensacola.

American Legion Post 78 in Milton is hosting the inaugural Young Patriots weekend this Saturday and Sunday, a two-day program aimed at bringing civics, community service, and patriotism education to middle and high school students across Santa Rosa County.

The Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County (DOH-Santa Rosa) is urging residents to avoid contact with wild and stray animals as bat maternity season gets underway, warning that the period from April 16 to Aug. 14 brings a higher risk of rabies exposure.