Several Santa Rosa County residents urged the Santa Rosa County Commission on June 9 to take a public stand against bringing artificial intelligence data centers to the area, warning that the facilities could strain the region’s electricity, water and natural resources.

No serious injuries were reported after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper rear-ended another vehicle on Interstate 10 in Santa Rosa County, according to a news release from the Florida Highway Patrol.

As Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push for property tax cuts heads to the November ballot, local leaders across Okaloosa County are preparing for tightened budgets over the next several years as Rep. Nathan Boyles defends his no vote on the house floor.

Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Colten Wright says that a proposed amendment on the November ballot that would eliminate property taxes on certain homesteaded properties would guarantee cuts to public safety, infrastructure and other core county services.

Karson Ellis and Emmy Lou Nelson have become quite the success story in the rodeo world.


The two Central students capped off the Alabama Junior High School Rodeo Association season with championship saddles, punching their ticket to nationals in Oklahoma later this month.

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.

Local base commanders and Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL1) made the case on May 27 that the area’s congested roadways are not just a quality-of-life problem, it is also a threat to national security.

The old hospital on Stewart Steet could become a 300-unit apartment community with a public library and technology hub. A three-acre lot off James Street could become a new home for senior housing. A 10-acre plat in the city’s northern end could become a planned community of manufactured homes where people can actually afford a home.

The Legislature will convene on Monday, June 1, in a special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider the governor’s proposal to cut or even eliminate property tax bills.

A small family farm in East Milton is calling for an investigation after the owners say more than 50 chickens died following the alleged spraying of an herbicide over Florida Power & Light right-of-way across the street from their property.