News Archive

Santa Rosa County students report to class on August 10. Which means the time is now to get the supplies your students need to hit the ground running for a successful school year.

Charlena Jenkins spent a career helping others. Which left a toll on her knees and joints.

“I had to find some kind of exercise that was gentle on my joints that I could enjoy as I get older,” Jenkins said, who now works as a nurse. The former paramedic turns 70 next month.

She landed on bike riding years ago. What’s new is the company.

Jenkins is the founder of the Holy Rollers, a cycling small group at Christian Life Church in Milton. She has been a member of the church for the past seven years and on July 18, the group is set for their first ride on the Blackwater Heritage State Trail.

Milton city officials are drafting an ordinance that would prohibit camping and sleeping in public places within city limits as part of the city’s response to state requirements regarding public camping.

Getting stopped by a Milton police officer this summer might mean getting a ticket for a free ice cream cone.

A 17-year-old Milton teenager died after being ejected from a vehicle involved in a single-vehicle crash on Munson Highway on July 15.

Santa Rosa Medical Center has announced they have donated $15,000 to the Pace Athletic Recreation Association (PARA) for their commitment to community service and health to the local community.

A 36-year-old Jay man was killed on July 11 in a two-vehicle crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis says the job is more fun than he expected.

Fifteen months into a congressional career that began with an April 2025 special election, the Panama City native has a theory about why Washington has been friendlier to him than advertised: Half of Congress already loves his district.

“You’ve got all these members of Congress from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas. They all vacation in Northwest Florida,” Patronis said. “We’re their closest beaches. For me, being a product of the hospitality industry, I love to entertain.”

Whether that’s enough for voters is the question on Aug. 18. Patronis, 54, faces former Army Green Beret John Frankman and Navy veteran Doug Chico in the Republican primary. Waiting in November is Democrat Gay Valimont, who lost to Patronis by 9 percentage points in the April 2025 special election but carried Escambia County.

Patronis has endorsements from President Donald Trump for the second straight election cycle. On July 6, Patronis also secured endorsements from all four sheriffs in the district.

UPDATE: This event has been postponed, Santa Rosa County Emergency Management officials announced Monday.

With peak hurricane season quickly approaching, officials from Santa Rosa County Emergency Management are inviting residents to get prepared with their Tropical Town Hall on July 21.

A new bill introduced by Congressman Jimmy Patronis would protect seaports from unauthorized drone flights.