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.

Mike Philley, band director at Avalon Middle School, has accepted the Santa Rosa County District Schools Instrumental Music Coordinator position.

Kimahri Blevins, 15, and Gabriel Williams, 16, are due back in court this summer.
The pair were charged with first-degree premeditated murder or felony murder for allegedly killing their classmate Danika Troy, 14. The two teens were indicted Dec. 19, 2025.

Four years after narrowly losing to Kerry Smith for the District 2 Santa Rosa County Commission seat, Jeff Ates IV is back. This go round, he is facing seven other candidates, including Smith.
Ates is a lifelong East Milton resident and ran a dirt pit in the area for around 25 years. The pit has supplied dirt and other earthworks for projects across Santa Rosa County. He also managed hunting land in the 1980s and 1990s and currently consults for North American IPS, LLC.

April is Water Conservation Month. While April is typically a dry month in the Sunshine State, it comes as Florida experiences drought conditions from Escambia County to Monroe County.

A 2023 graduate from Pace High School helped lead the grand opening of a new marching band facility at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. The ribbon cutting took place Friday, March 6.

Rivers Lewis, who is currently a Junior and drum major with the Jaguar Marching Band, said the complex is years in the making.

The University of West Florida is known for its trails as well as its academics.

Much of the trails traverse through longleaf pine forests. The plant, which once spread over 90 million acres across America, is famously fire-resistant and relies on fires to clear out dead underbrush to make room for its seedlings.

With an art career spanning 40 years, Dan Beck has built a name for himself.

Beck, an impressionist painter, has won numerous awards and recognitions for his artwork, which bridges traditional impressionism and contemporary art concepts.

Northwest Florida Construction Career Days celebrated a record-breaking sixth year in 2026.

The annual construction and transportation career fair drew more than 1,400 students and chaperones from schools across seven Northwest Florida counties. Counties involved in this year’s event included Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties.

Vernon Compton stands on the edge of Clear Creek Nature Preserve, where Longleaf Alliance, a conservation organization he belongs to, is currently working to create trails for public recreation.

He said it’s an exciting time for conservation in Northwest Florida.