A woman once pulled into the food pantry at Woodbine Church in a car newer than most, and pantry coordinator Ed Dean watched people notice.

An online petition urging a proposed YMCA in Pace to include a community pool is being aimed at Santa Rosa County officials, but the county’s planning director said the design decision rests with the nonprofit, which has not yet bought the land.

Santa Rosa County will hold a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Sept. 22 at 8:30 a.m. at the Santa Rosa County Administrative Building in Milton. The county calendar confirms the regular meeting for that date and time.

Santa Rosa County has received a low bid of more than $8.3 million for the proposed Navarre Beach Boardwalk, a project that has dominated public comment at county meetings for nearly a month.

(By Jim Turner) Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin this week highlighted his staff’s work to keep tourism close to record numbers as travelers have been “tightening their belts.”

A recent report from the agency showed tourism was down 1.4 percent over the first half of the year compared with the same point in 2025, when the state handled about 74.5 million of its record 143.3 million visitors.

John Everitt, the man who announced the Milton High School band for 28 years and helped brand it as “the Mighty Black and Gold,” died earlier this month. He was 78.

The Santa Rosa County Zoning Board voted 7-1 Sept. 10 to recommend denial of a request to rezone 503 acres north of Berryhill Road for about 1,500 homes and 10 acres of neighborhood commercial space after residents and board members said roads cannot handle more traffic.

Aaron Riley had signed a lease on a Willing Street business and begun repainting the store when he learned tattooing wasn’t allowed in downtown Milton. On Sept. 8, the City Council voted 4-3 to keep it that way.

Paid parking returns to downtown Pensacola on Oct. 5, ending the free parking period that the city put in place during the renovation of Palafox Street.

Mayor Heather Lindsay proclaimed September as Suicide Awareness Month during a City Council meeting Sept. 8, presenting a proclamation to Pastor Bill Wright of Share Your Heart of Northwest Florida.