A federal judge on Monday ruled that Santa Rosa County did not breach its contract with a developer hoping to build an RV park on Navarre Beach.

Finally! More than 20 years in the making, the new Santa Rosa County Courthouse began serving the First Judicial District of Florida and county courts today, Jan. 17.

A property owner is asking the Santa Rosa County Zoning Board to recommend rezoning 41.8 acres of vacant agricultural land on State Road 87 in East Milton for commercial use. The board will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at the County Administration Complex, 6495 Caroline St. in Milton.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has gone to the dogs! Or, at least, they are very excited about telling the community about them. The law enforcement agency recently started an initiative to reach out to the community and positively engage them in what the K9 unit does. As a part of that initiative, the Sheriff’s Office has created a special set of trading cards that highlight the various K9s in the unit.

The City of Milton’s 2023 will be shaped largely by forces beyond its control.

The Florida Department of Transportation “will make every effort, within reason” to accommodate stakeholders’ wishes when designing the expansion of U.S. Highway 90 through downtown Milton, a spokesperson said last month. “Remember, this is the beginning of a process that could take two or three years,” Ian Satter, FDOT District 3’s public information director, told the Press Gazette in December. “The project development and environment study (completed in 2019) analyzed every possible route and concluded that expanding the existing corridor is the best solution, but it doesn’t determine the design. That’s what this project will do, and we will do our best to make sure we include the city and the public in the process.”

As early as June 2021, residents were concerned about a 100-acre area near Blackwater River owned by Santa Rosa County that had been selected for the City of Milton to use to build a RIBs (Rapid Infiltration Basin) system for their upcoming wastewater treatment plant.

Milton voters soundly rejected the status quo Tuesday, defeating all three incumbent city councilmembers seeking reelection and returning Mayor Heather Lindsay to City Hall with less than 50 percent of the total vote.

A statement from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’ office Monday suggested the congressman is undecided whether to support efforts to support changing the proposed site for the North Santa Rosa Regional Wastewater Facility.

Residents worried about the proposed location of Milton’s new wastewater treatment plant may have a friend in high places. Pam Mitchell of Milton Concerned Citizens, a political action committee leading opposition to the proposed site, said she and other members of the group were encouraged by a meeting they had with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz at an event the last weekend in October.