The start of the new school year is just around the corner. Students in Santa Rosa County will return to class on August 11, leaving less than a month before the semester begins.

For some car owners, owning a Jeep would be like owning any other car. For die-hard Jeep lovers, it’s a little bit different. That’s where Santa Rosa Jeeps comes in. The car club, a collective for owners of Jeep Wranglers in Santa Rosa County, was created to show off members’ Jeeps and help the community at the same time. On July 12, the group did just that, putting on a show-and-shine car show with proceeds from the event going to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the state budget of $117.4 billion for the fiscal year 2025-2026.

Despite the hefty dollar amount, more than $2 million in allocations meant for Northwest Florida projects and programs was slashed by governor veto. One such program was the Santa Rosa County Veterans Treatment Court, which lost a $150,000 appropriation due to DeSantis’ veto pen.

Santa Rosa County welcomes public input and review of the third proposed amendments to the Multi-Year Implementation Plan (MYIP) that was initially accepted by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Gulf Coast Restoration in May 2017 and was first amended in September 2019. A second amendment was approved in 2021. A 45-day public review and comment period will be held before the third amended plan is submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

The U.S Army Special Operations Command has issued a “Duty to Warn” notification regarding a potential terrorist threat targeting retired senior officials who previously served in the Department of Defense with roles in the Syria/Iraq theater.

The owner of several Mexican restaurants in Northwest Florida and Alabama has been ar-rested on a slew of charges related to the mishandling of COVID-19 era federal loans. Cesar Campos-Reyes, 52, is charged with four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, the charges stem from an alleged scheme involving federal program fraud.

Former Florida Department of Education Commissioner and University of West Florida Interim President Manny Diaz Jr. officially began his new position on July 14, marking the end of Dr. Martha Saunders’ eight-year stretch as UWF President. University Public Relations and Diaz held a press conference July 16 to officially introduce him to faculty and staff members, as well as provide a forum for Diaz to answer questions about his plans for the school.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office joined forces with Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement partners throughout the region in Panama City to officially kick off Operation Southern Slow Down Monday, July 14.

Santa Rosa County dropped all charges against Victoria Elsenpeter, who was previously charged with grand theft after roughly $3,800 went missing from the Clerk of Courts and Comptroller.

Pace Library ended their part of the county’s summer reading program with a bang on July 15, putting on an educational and interactive display for all in attendance. The interactive experience was presented by Animal Tales Southeast, a safe and licensed animal education program. The presentation from Animal Tales included a frog, beardless dragon, legless lizard, kookaburra bird, kinkajou (a member of the raccoon family that resembles a lemur) and a snake, all from varying continents.