Javier Rodriguez shook his head, muttering as he walked toward a group of kids staring down into the water from an unfinished observation deck on the boardwalk extension at Carpenter’s Park in Milton.
“Hey! You can’t be on there,” he yelled to the trespassers. The area had been taped off and blockaded so vehicles wouldn’t drive into the work area, but any curious resident could easily stroll over to where the framework for the boardwalk meanders along a tributary to the Blackwater River.

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.

Norman Garrett American Legion Post No. 78 and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the public from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 25 at the American Legion Hall, 6025 Spikes Way. Games and refreshments will be provided.

Two items on last week’s Milton City Council agenda demonstrated the division still created by the planned expansion of U.S. Highway 90 through downtown.

Since at least 2019, the state’s plan to widen U.S. Highway 90 through downtown Milton has been among the city’s most polarizing issues. Now, city councilmembers and volunteers from three advisory councils will try to craft a common vision for the highway’s design.

The Bagdad Volunteer Fire Department is hosting its first Spring Fest celebration from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at 4513 Forsyth Street in Milton.

Santa Rosa County needs to up its game, an economic development consultant told the Board of County Commissioners in February.

The family of a disabled boy is suing the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, school board of Santa Rosa County, High Road School of Santa Rosa and multiple individuals for a December 2021 incident involving the Baker Acting of the then 8-year-old boy.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, accuses David Daniels, a former school resource officer at High Road School of Santa Rosa, of unlawfully “manhandling, handcuffing and Baker Acting” the boy, who is referred to as “Little B” in the lawsuit.

A Santa Rosa County District Schools’ school bus was involved in a traffic accident Thursday afternoon, but no injuries were reported.
A bus carrying 23 students from Avalon Middle School was driving on U.S. Highway 90 near the intersection of Watkins Street when it had to stop due to traffic ahead.

Sam Parker apologized Thursday for using an ethnic slur attracting international attention while critics continue calling for his resignation from the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners.