Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) brought 10 new solar energy centers online throughout Florida Feb. 1. FPL now has 60 solar energy centers installed statewide – capable of generating enough clean, emissions-free energy to power approximately 900,000 homes throughout the state.

Amazon expanded to Milton Nov. 9, 2022, and opened a delivery station at the Santa Rosa County Industrial Park in East Milton off U.S. Highway 90.

In January, Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the new Amazon distribution center, welcoming the company to the community.

The facility is more than 80,000 square feet and was previously a call center for Navy Federal Credit Union. Amazon completely remodeled the building’s interior to accommodate a conveyance system, sort zones, route staging areas, a multi-faith room, mothers’ room, breakroom, training room and office space.

It’s all about explosive growth in East Milton. “This is an investment company buying up this property (along State Road 87 between Fortune and Hickory Hammock roads in East Milton),” Mark Siner, president and owner of Choctaw Engineering in Fort Walton Beach, told the Santa Rosa County Zoning Board at its meeting Jan. 12.

With the first month of 2023 upon us, government and community organizations are planning out the new year. The Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council (TDC), which is part of the Tourism Development Office, is one of those organizations.

Buffalo Rock, the nation’s largest single family-owned Pepsi and Dr Pepper bottlers, announced its expansion into Santa Rosa County. The Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office (SREDO) announced today the  iconic beverage company has agreed to purchase 47 acres of property at the Northwest Florida Industrial Park at I-10 for a new distribution facility.

As average gasoline prices have moved back above $3 a gallon in Florida, a tech company that monitors the fuel industry foresees prices above $4 a gallon in 2023.

Jeff Minder first discovered he had a passion for dogs when he was at Hurlburt Field, where he was a SERE trainer, teaching airmen to evade enemy canines. SERE is short for survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. Since retiring from the military, Minder has created a dog training business that has led to major breakthroughs in COVID detection and led to acclaim as one of the preeminent dog trainer schools in the country. Minder’s business is Top Tier K9.

On Dec. 8, 27 up and coming leaders of Santa Rosa County gathered to celebrate the completion of Leadership Santa Rosa’s 35th year. This was the first new class since 2020. Leadership Santa Rosa is a 10-month training program designed to prepare participants for leadership roles in the local community.

Many citizens of Santa Rosa County have been anxiously waiting to see what becomes of the three developments coming to Navarre and Milton.

With workforce preparedness becoming an ever-growing economic concern in recent years, schools across the nation are looking at ways to better prepare the next generation of workers and professionals. Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs, which seek to address these issues, have become a focal point for Florida educators.