I was out and about at Juana’s Good Time Regatta this weekend. Kaitie Kiger covered the event on Saturday in a chase boat and I went out on a chase boat Sunday to take pictures.
This was the team at Juana’s/Sailors Grill’s 33rd year organizing and running this event, which is a tremendous asset for our community.

I’ve been mostly out this week and about in other parts of Florida. Sarasota to be specific. We brought seven of us to the Florida Press Conference to learn the latest trends and best practices in journalism and design. We also had our awards ceremony, and while Navarre Press didn’t win the overall trophy for our division, Santa Rosa Press Gazette did.

I went to the south annex today to renew my tags and there was a lady outside of the doors with a table and a bunch of paper on it and she yelled out at me, “Please come sign this petition to protect woman’s health care rights.”

A new restaurant in Navarre is on the horizon where the old Helen Back Pizza used to be. The restaurant chain Fatboys has announced they expect to open later this year. They are well known for their burgers, wings and more. You can read all about it on our Business page (4A).

July is here and as I’m writing this – the fourth is tomorrow. By the time you receive this, July 4, 2023, will be a two-day-old memory. However, I have some trivia for you to use next year. These are referenced from a “Good Housekeeping” article, but double checked with personal comments by yours truly.

Our editorial this week should be an eye-opener for anyone with children or anyone who cares about children in our school district. Another issue that has been bubbling up is the Holley-Navarre Water System’s 2019-2020 policy which looks at commercial properties, what the property originally paid in tap fees, and what their current usage is, only to ask for impact fees –after the fact.

We wrote a few stories about the owner of the 23.2 acres across from Springhill Suites “threatening” or “promising” to build three 16-story buildings having 697 residential condominiums, 148 condo/hotel units and 10,000 square feet for retail use – because it has come up at county meetings.

The beach traffic seems to have calmed down a bit since Memorial Day weekend and the weekend before. I try to go to the beach when all the locals are leaving. As a local, you have an advantage to plan to go when the timing is right because, hopefully, we have many opportunities to go. I apply the same principle when I go to Destin during the summer. First of all, I do my best not to go during the summer.

Ever had one of those days where you are trying to hurry up and get the most important work done so you can go home early in the heat of the day (83 degrees – 75% humidity) and mow your yard? Well, I have – and that day is today.

I recently attended the graduation ceremony for my son-in-law, Jon Crider, who graduated with his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Mississippi, otherwise known as Ole Miss. He also wrote for Navarre Press for a year before he married my daughter in 2016 and left for Mississippi to pursue his doctorate degree. You may see his byline in the coming weeks. He starts teaching at Belmont University in the fall and will be working on data driven stories as a data journalist this summer.