As Santa Rosa County Commissioners moved to advance ballot language for the renewal of the county’s half-cent local option sales tax on April 21, a familiar voice from the public urged the board once again to strip the measure down to a single purpose: fixing roads.

The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners on April 21 paid tribute to Elizabeth Baskerville Major, a mathematician, certified Florida Master Naturalist and longtime community advocate who died last year at age 87, by presenting a posthumous certificate of recognition to honor her decades of environmental and civil service.

After more than a year of permitting and patience, Mama Lattes has opened a drive-through location in Milton, and the community made sure the owners knew it was ready.

The Santa Rosa County Commission District 2 incumbent, now seeking a second term, said it was his wife who pushed him into the race. He had been talking about local politics, complaining about the direction of things, and she gave him an ultimatum: run or stop talking.

Residents packed a public forum Tuesday evening to push for faster action on a long-stalled highway widening project they say has left the area dangerously unprepared for growth and storm evacuations.

Santa Rosa County broke ground April 8 on a new wastewater treatment plant at Milton Interchange Park, launching a $30.2 million infrastructure project officials say will unlock years of stalled economic growth in the East Milton area.

The Santa Rosa County Commission will consider adopting an ordinance on Tuesday that would allow automated speed detection cameras in school zones across the county, a measure that could result in $100 fines for drivers caught exceeding school zone speed limits by more than 10 mph.

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.