News Archive

Two semi-truck drivers are behind bars after authorities say they tampered with diesel fuel pumps in Milton, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Sgt. Curtis Meltzer has spent four summers on Santa Rosa County’s waterways. He’s seen propeller strikes, drunk boaters and kids swimming underwater at boat ramps as boaters sit idle nearby. His message heading into another busy season is simple: know what you’re doing before you put the boat in gear.

While it may not look like much from the outside, a one-story building off Stewart Street stocks canned food and shelves of peanut butter for students in need across Santa Rosa County.

Paul Renner, the former speaker of the Florida House and current gubernatorial candidate, made a campaign stop in Pace on June 1, pitching himself as the candidate best positioned to lower property taxes, rein in utility costs and take on out-of-state-interests.

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved a sweeping tax cut for homestead property owners pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, sending it to the November ballot.

The measure increases the existing $50,000 exemption for homestead properties to $150,000 starting in 2027, and it increases to $250,000 in 2028. The exemption, though, doesn’t apply to school taxes, after lawmakers changed DeSantis’ plan Monday to protect districts from drastic cuts.

A water main break along Da Lisa Road has forced the Bagdad-Garcon Point Water System to issue a boil water notice for residents in the area.

Breast cancer diagnosis rates in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties exceed the state average, and a new program from Ascension Sacred Heart is working to change that one free mammogram at a time.

The Jay community takes tremendous pride in its farming roots, and those roots are well represented in the high school’s FFA program.
Not only does Jay’s FFA chapter provide students with invaluable experience in agricultural studies, but it also allows them to work hands-on to provide for people in the community.

Incumbent County Commissioner Kerry Smith didn’t qualify for the 2026 ballot based on petitions and now must pay $5,460.06 to stay in the race for Commission District 2.
Smith, along with fellow District 2 candidates Michael Rinaldi and Shawn Kay, failed to garner the required number of petitions by the May 11 deadline.

A 25-year-old Milton man died on June 1 after authorities say he lost control of his car and ran into a tree, according to a news release from Florida Highway Patrol.