Tropical Depression 2 is inching toward the northern Gulf Coast early Monday, with forecasters at the National Weather Service saying the storm could be upgraded to tropical storm status by late afternoon.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis says the job is more fun than he expected.

Fifteen months into a congressional career that began with an April 2025 special election, the Panama City native has a theory about why Washington has been friendlier to him than advertised: Half of Congress already loves his district.

“You’ve got all these members of Congress from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas. They all vacation in Northwest Florida,” Patronis said. “We’re their closest beaches. For me, being a product of the hospitality industry, I love to entertain.”

Whether that’s enough for voters is the question on Aug. 18. Patronis, 54, faces former Army Green Beret John Frankman and Navy veteran Doug Chico in the Republican primary. Waiting in November is Democrat Gay Valimont, who lost to Patronis by 9 percentage points in the April 2025 special election but carried Escambia County.

Patronis has endorsements from President Donald Trump for the second straight election cycle. On July 6, Patronis also secured endorsements from all four sheriffs in the district.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has closed its investigation into a Milton beekeeper’s report of massive bee losses, finding no link between the deaths and spraying, according to the agency.

Santa Rosa County Commissioners reviewed a tentative $255.2 million balanced budget on July 9, closing a nearly $4 million gap that was reviewed at the county’s first budget workshop on June 29, through more spending cuts, delayed capital projects, and higher-than-expected sheriff’s office revenue.

Santa Rosa County Commissioners on July 7 expressed their unanimous support for grant funding that will allow the Bagdad Village Preservation Association (BVPA) to expand their facility by relocating the historic post office back to the museum.

With the outpouring of public backlash the Town of Jay received over the past couple of weeks, the town council voted 4-1 on July 7 to not move forward with hiring April Watson as the new town’s manager.

Santa Rosa County officials are moving forward with a proposal that would turn an unused portion of East Milton Park into a BMX track, a project some elected officials and local residents believe could put Santa Rosa County on the map for competitive cycling.

Residents will have the chance to speak their minds as the Santa Rosa County Commission begins deliberations on a proposed one-year moratorium on data centers at 8:30 a.m. July 9 in the Santa Rosa County Commission boardroom.

Randy Roy is paid, in part, to think about a war that hasn’t happened yet and the pilots who’ll fly it.

With little discussion and no members of the public speaking on the issue, the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on June 29 to renew a local option six-cent gas tax for the next ten years.