What was once a furniture showroom and later an overhead door supplier became something else entirely Tuesday: a hands-on career and technical education hub that Santa Rosa County School District leaders say has been 14 years in the making.

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.

State Rep. Nathan Boyles, R-Baker, is wrapping up what he calls his first full legislative session in Tallahassee, and the freshman Republican said the biggest adjustment has been learning how to move policy in a chamber with far more colleagues — and competing interests — than the Okaloosa County Commission he came from.

The Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on March 26 to approve the Agricultural Legacy Lands Protection Program; a voluntary conservation initiative aimed at preserving the county’s farmland and the roughly $100 million agricultural industry it supports.

Milton City Council members voiced broad support at a March 19 work session for a proposed luxury hotel and event space, though one member cautioned that any public-private partnership would need to justify the cost to taxpayers.

Doug Chico didn’t plan to run for Congress. The 35-year-old Navy veteran and sixth-generation Northwest Florida native said he’d rather spend more time with his family. But a local surveillance camera rollout last fall set him on a path to challenge incumbent Rep. Jimmy Patronis in the August Republican primary for Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

Nearly one year into leading the Milton Police Department, Chief Jennifer Frank says the agency has moved quickly by filling vacancies, boosting training, expanding community programs and beginning to address resource gaps that predated her arrival.

A new farm-to-market store in Milton has found itself selling out faster than the owners anticipated, drawing a steady stream of customers even before its official opening day.

Santa Rosa County officials say progress on a long-discussed effort to widen U.S. Highway 90 could help accelerate the project, but the proposal continues to raise questions about traffic congestion through Milton’s historic downtown and the potential impact on older buildings along the corridor.

Some mornings at Rhodes Elementary School begin with more than just the school bell.