In a day and age where the internet is rife with misinformation and spam calls keep our phones buzzing, is it any wonder elder fraud is a growing concern for law enforcement?

A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the state budget of $117.4 billion for the fiscal year 2025-2026.

Despite the hefty dollar amount, more than $2 million in allocations meant for Northwest Florida projects and programs was slashed by governor veto. One such program was the Santa Rosa County Veterans Treatment Court, which lost a $150,000 appropriation due to DeSantis’ veto pen.

The owner of several Mexican restaurants in Northwest Florida and Alabama has been ar-rested on a slew of charges related to the mishandling of COVID-19 era federal loans. Cesar Campos-Reyes, 52, is charged with four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, the charges stem from an alleged scheme involving federal program fraud.

With the growth of Santa Rosa County’s human population comes an influx of pets, such as cats and dogs.

To keep pets, and their owners, in check, the county has leash laws enforced by Santa Rosa County Animal Services. The leash laws pertain to various areas of the county, namely in population centers such as Navarre, Midway, Gulf Breeze, Milton, Pace and Jay.  

A bill recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis will require teenagers earning their learner’s permit to complete a six-hour driver’s safety course, in addition to a driving rules knowledge test.

The current safety course, known as Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education, is four hours in length.

Navarre Beach is often thought of as a vacation destination, somewhere to put your feet up after a long journey. For Kyndal Ray Edwards, that journey has been longer than most.

Edwards, known for his “The Walking Testimony” social media account, has been traveling the United States on foot since 2022, covering more than 8,200 miles. Multiple coastlines, mountain ranges, deserts, highways, backroads and 20 pairs of shoes later, he arrived in Navarre June 18, 2025.

While Blackwater River State Park welcomes visitors, those same visitors often leave behind more than footprints.

Using a Guy Harvey Foundation grant, Santa Rosa County 4-H went onto the river earlier this month to help clean up trash and other man-made debris. The foundation enabled them to rent canoes from Adventures Unlimited.

As smoke engulfed a home’s garage on Holley Court in Navarre May 28, firefighters pulled a rottweiler out from the haze.

Thanks to a specialized mask on board Holley Navarre Fire District Engine 41, the animal was given oxygen, hauled off in an ambulance and able to be given treatment. The dog, named “Sydney,” has reportedly left St. Francis Animal Hospital after a multi-day stay.

The idea of multiplication can be found throughout biblical scripture, whether it pertains to spiritual growth, familial growth, blessings, tithing or miracles such as the feeding of the 5,000 by Jesus.

Easter is a time of death and renewal.

For the Catholic Church, this symbolism of Easter was especially poignant this year as Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome, died at 88 years old Monday, April 21.