In a first degree murder case, it’s rare for a defendant to plead guilty, according to Mark Alderman at the First Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.

The charge carries a mandatory life sentence, with no room for negotiation and therefore, very little incentive to plead guilty, Alderman said. But that’s what Jerry Geisler Odum did Friday.

A tiny homes ordinance recently adopted by the Milton City Council aims to provide affordable, creative housing options in Milton.

The ordinance, the first of its kind in Northwest Florida, allows for downsized versions of traditional houses on permanent foundations that are as small as 300-square-foot, on lots as small as 3,500 square feet.

Each December, volunteers bundle up against the cold and walk the silent rows of the nation’s military cemeteries, carrying armfuls of bright green Christmas wreaths.